2017 Hotrod Power Tour

[Turbo Zach]

hello again. it was nice talking to you also. had a great time on the tour.
thats a nice looking wagon. is that a ls motor going into that car? let me know how it works out. are you bagging it? it looks nice and low.

Sorry I missed you at Newton. I probably walked by your car five times. Share some photos and experiences with us!

 

[vanrah]

Greetings Guys; Thanks for posting, more pictures & stories would be good. I've been busy & haven't had much free time let a loan to attend. So just seeing pictures & reading about your adventures is the best that I'll get. Keep cool, Ole' Bob.

 

[oldsmobile joe]

Sorry I missed you at Newton. I probably walked by your car five times. Share some photos and experiences with us!

yes, sorry i missed you and sony in newton. it got real hectic before the trip. i finally met ldr and his crew on the way out of davenport.

my son and i had a blast. signed up for the long haul of 7 cities in 7 days, but only made 5 stops, needed to get home to get ready for my sons h.s. grad party.

started off for k.c. friday with my 66 chevy belair wagon for its maiden voyage. bought it 8 years ago and it immediately went into the shop and didn't make it out till this spring. yanked out the 282/pg and installed an lt1/4l60e. added 4wheel disc brakes and a ton of sweat. well 8 episodes of pinched back nerves and 7.5 years i finally got it road worthy.

one the way down, had a trans cooler hose spring a leak just north of des moine. 10 min fix and off we were. but it reared its ugly head again just south of west des moine. this one cost me time, the hose turned out to not be rated for oil, for it split wide open. luckily a local man stopped and gave a ride to and from the hardware store to get a hose and trans fluid. he had his grandson with him and was going to buy him some soda and licorice, so i picked up the bill on that in return for helping us out.

the only other problem we had during our 1900 mile trip was the misfire the eng developed. but i was able to nurse it from k.c. to 4 more and home. still managed to average 18mpg. very happy.

for those interested in power tour, long haul or day tripping, plan ahead. make sure your cooling system is ready to idle for what feels like forever. the lines going into some of the venues can get very long, an hour or more. bring lots of water, i think all 5 venues i attended had a temp hovering around 95 degrees. madison felt the worse with a dew point around 76 degrees.

ran into some great people, never any a--holes. both at the venues, and the hotels. so much so, that i spent more time talking than looking at cars. take a look at the hot rod web site for pics. as you will see, anything goes. your car doesn't have to be finished to show quality. my car is a prime example. heck, some cars didn't even have windows.
joe

 

[200kss]

Thanks for the compliments Zach. I was hoping to meet some of you. I meet another fella he said he was malibu racing more. We had a good visit. We're going to Madison today then heading home. It's going to be along day.

That would be me. My brother and I were the two that found you as soon as you parked. Car looks good!

 

[200kss]

Nice meeting you in Champaign Joe. My father had the 87' 442 and I was in the 79 Malibu

Heres a pic of our 66 Impala wagon

Were the Malibu and 442 parked near the Motor medics at Champaign? I believe we saw them and the hood was down on the Malibu.

 

[Ribbedroof]

Started in k.c. made it newton and heading to quad cities. Having a blast. Made the power tour web site.
Joe

Nice wagon...always liked those, but pretty hard to find a decent one that isn't gold-plated in the seller's eyes around here

 

[motorheadmike]

Yeah, the $4 for a bottle of water is complete bullshit. Between me and my brother and dad, we spent damn near 30 bucks on water. And it was so hot, the water almost got too hot to drink! So you had to down the water faster, which puts you in an endless cycle of paying out the *ss for Dasani. And I did see that white and green regal when I came in. We showed up around 2, and left at about 5:30 ish. I saw your car as I left as I said, what time did you get there? I for damn sure am going to go next year, wherever it is. The walking around is only half the fun. Did you register, or just show up and park?

How do you guys not stop at a grocery store and get a flat of water to keep in the trunk for a few bucks? My brother and I did this on both Power Tour and Drag Week - and we were international participants who didn't know where to find much.

 

[ldr]

That would be me. My brother and I were the two that found you as soon as you parked. Car looks good!

I enjoyed our visit, I like meeting people from the forums. Oldsmobile Joe stopped me also, we was leaving Davenport. My group want to go to American picker place so I followed along to drive the car some more. Wish I could have visited with him a little longer. Sorry Joe. I agree with motor head Mike, after I pack I have to adjust coilovers to get car back to ride height.

 

[MrSony]

How do you guys not stop at a grocery store and get a flat of water to keep in the trunk for a few bucks? My brother and I did this on both Power Tour and Drag Week - and we were international participants who didn't know where to find much.

It would've been a waste. It was so hot there, after about 5 minutes the water would get hot. Drinking hot water on a hot day is near vomit inducing. Plus it would've been a p.i.t.a to keep going all the way to the front of the venue ever 10 minutes for water.

 

[motorheadmike]

It would've been a waste. It was so hot there, after about 5 minutes the water would get hot. Drinking hot water on a hot day is near vomit inducing. Plus it would've been a p.i.t.a to keep going all the way to the front of the venue ever 10 minutes for water.

As an Infantry Officer I must say that I find your assessment of the value of "uncomfortably" warm water to be laughable. You really need to gain some perspective and stop sounding so entitled.

Top tip: Pack a small cooler and some ice to cool the water. Take one out, put one in. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Caution: You may have to replace the ice daily in order to continue to keep your water cool.